The Central government has accepted the names of all eight Judges and one Supreme Court lawyer, as recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium, for elevation to the apex court, reports said here.
This may pave way for Justice B. V. Nagarathna, one of the eight Judges recommended for elevation to SC, to make history by becoming the first woman Chief Justice of India, they added.
According to reports, files have been forwarded to the President for further formalities and issuance of warrant of appointments. If all goes according to the plan, the Supreme Court will have nine new judges sworn-in early next week.
They include Karnataka Chief Justice A. S. Oka, who is the seniormost Chief Justice among all High Court Chief Justices; Gujarat Chief Justice Vikram Nath; Sikkim Chief Justice J. K. Maheshwari; Telangana Chief Justice Hima Kohli, who is also the only serving woman Chief Justice of a High Court; Justice Nagarathna; Kerala High Court judge, Justice C. T. Ravikumar; Madras High Court judge, Justice M. M. Sundresh; Gujarat High Court judge, Justice Bela M. Trivedi; and senior advocate P. S. Narasimha, in that order.
According to reports, the Collegium, also comprising Justices U. U. Lalit, A. M. Khanwilkar, D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice L. Nageswara Rao, had met on August 17, to zero in on the names.
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The Collegium had, for the first time, in one single resolution, recommended three women judges. It had also sent a strong signal in favour of representation of women in the highest judiciary, they added.
Three of these — Justice Nath, Justice Nagarathna and Mr Narasimha would go on to be the Chief Justices of India. Mr. Narasimha, who had served as Additional Solicitor General, may become the ninth lawyer to be ever appointed directly as judge in the Supreme Court, said the reports.